₹450 Crore Deep-Tech Fund
IIT Madras Deep-Tech Fund raises ₹450 crore to support early-stage technology startups.
Anonymous
IIT Madras, IIT Madras Research Park and Unicorn India Ventures have raised ₹450 crore in the first close of their planned ₹1,000 crore deep-tech fund, three months after receiving regulatory approval. The fund is backed initially by IIT Madras alumni and family offices, with institutional investors, banks and corporations expected to contribute before the final close, which is targeted for December 2026. It plans to support roughly 25 startups developing intellectual-property-led technologies, and has announced nearly ₹55 crore in investments across four companies: rocket-engine maker Hathor, quantum-technology firm Quanstra, drone-battery developer Triolt Energy and carbon-capture startup Carbelim. The fund will focus on strategic areas including space, defence, semiconductors, AI, robotics, health and climate technology, aiming to help move research from laboratory development toward commercial use.
Key Points
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The fund is managed by Unicorn India Ventures, with IIT Madras Research Park serving as its research and incubation partner.
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The fund plans to focus much of its investment on startups at Technology Readiness Levels 3–4—proof of concept or laboratory validation—and expects to provide follow-on and co-investment support to help them keep developing.
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Although IIT Madras-incubated startups will be considered, the fund will also look at companies outside the institute’s ecosystem if they are developing strategically important or frontier technologies.
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The startups’ technologies include Quanstra’s single-photon detection systems and quantum instrumentation, and Carbelim’s microalgae-based carbon-capture and air-purification systems.
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When announced in February, the fund was described as a ₹600 crore vehicle with a ₹400 crore green-shoe option that could take its potential size to ₹1,000 crore.
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